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The lockdown transformed all our shopping habits overnight. With many outlets now reopening, The Bottom Line explores how Covid-19 could continue to shape our buying behaviour in the months and years ahead.

Will things eventually go back to how they were before, or has the pandemic heralded a whole new approach to spending? Here’s what the experts have to say.

Lockdown rules meant that frequent food shopping had to stop in favour of a single big supermarket trip each week. But will this trend stick around?

Richard Walker, managing director of Iceland Foods says yes. “I do think it will take a long time... for people to go back to not having much supplies in their household. And therefore I am expecting the bigger basket shops to remain for a time to come.”

He says we’re all buying a lot more frozen food too, with sales increasing by 30%. “I think that’s because people can plan for the week ahead and eliminate their food waste and obviously save money,” he explains.

Many businesses have seen a boom in online sales as a result of both physical store closures and concerns about Covid-19 infection. Walker says, “I think that trend has been simply fast forwarded five years or so.”

The demand for digital ordering has meant companies have had to rapidly transform the way they work. Walker says Iceland has increased its online capacity by over 250%. “We’re doing more deliveries a week than Ocado now... and we’ve had to sort of pivot our business model and adapt very quickly towards that new reality, which I’m sure is here to stay.”

Ancketill says online shopping is now popular with all ages as older people are taking up internet ordering too.

The closure of cafes, restaurants and sandwich shops has seen many of us making a lot more meals at home.

Ancketill thinks we’ve learned that “it’s not such an onerous thing, perhaps, to cook your own dinner”, especially for those who are no longer spending time traveling to work.

She thinks that while people will want to dine out again in future, we won’t do it as often as before now that we’re in the habit of home cooking. Also, “people are going to be tightening their belts, and obviously cooking at home is a lot cheaper than going out.”

High street hospitality businesses such as bars and restaurants may face a “long, slow restart”, according to Kate Nicholls, chief executive of .

Although we’ll get more confident about returning to normal life, she says social distancing measures will suppress demand, because we will lose “the informality and the spontaneity of people popping in while they’re out shopping.”

Ancketill thinks the way people socialise in future will generally depend on their age. Having seen large groups of young people picnicking in parks, she says, “I do not believe, for a single second, that as soon as our restaurants, bars and cafes open, that those young people, anyone up to the age of 45, won’t be in there absolutely like a shot, without a care in the world.”

Cycle sales have been accelerating since the start of the lockdown with many more people now giving pedal power a go, both on urban and electric bikes.

Jonathan Cole, managing director of bike company , says: “This isn’t the traditional cycle market... These are people who want comfortable and easy-to-ride vehicles where they’re sitting upright and they can take in the environment around them.”

Ancketill thinks cycling will stick as restrictions loosen, but it will rely on the government and local authorities creating and maintaining cycle lanes so riders can stay safe.

“I think for most people the barrier has been that lack of cycle lanes. So now we’re seeing more of them… this is a no-brainer, we’re definitely moving in this direction.”

“I think that leisure travel will bounce back extremely quickly, even faster perhaps than we all anticipated,” Ancketill says.

She cites the example of the cruise industry, which has seen an increase in pre-bookings for next year. “If [people] want to do something and they feel that they’re allowed to do it, they will jump on it straight away, as soon as they can.”

It may even be that lockdown life has curbed our desire to spend by giving us a greater appreciation of things that cost nothing.

“I’ve realised that nobody is missing the material things,” Walker says. “We’re missing the company of others, we’re missing great conversations, we’re missing hugs. And you know, that’s what life is all about.”

Ancketill agrees. “I totally agree with Richard. We’ve all realised that we don’t need as much stuff, we’ve been perfectly happy living without it... it’s actually about Gross Domestic Happiness.”